Mass Effect devs talk spin-offs: could Garrus get his own game?

Members of the development team behind Mass Effect have expressed their interest at producing side-stories for some of the series’ more popular characters.

Among the list of characters BioWare would like to further explore include fan-favourite Garrus Vakarian, the former C-Sec officer-turned Normandy crew member who aids Commander Shepard throughout all three Mass Effect titles.

"There's so much that could be told in the Mass Effect universe," said series producer Casey Hudson, during a chat with OXM. "It'd be cool to do something completely unrelated to the larger storyline, like a story about a private investigator on the Citadel. Or maybe something detailing Garrus' time in C-Sec."

Dusty Everman, lead level designer on the Mass Effect franchise, added: “While being one of Shepard’s most loyal friends, Garrus has also had some of the most driven personal goals.”

“He’s a hero in his own right, as Archangel and beyond. Who wouldn’t want to see further adventures of the bold, charming Garrus Vakarian (theres a lot of guns out there to calibrate).”

Elsewhere, Mass Effect lead designer Preston Watamaniuk reckons “a game centred on brutal Krogan combat with more of a melee focus would be pretty exciting.”

Lead writer Mac Walters believes that there are a multitude of characters who would benefit from a spin-off, however:

“Aria. The Illusive Man. Kai Leng. Any henchman. The list goes on. I think most of them could have successful spin-offs of their own in some fashion,” he said.

"Following the story of Javik a little bit more would be pretty cool," offered producer Michael Gamble. "As the last remaining member of a lost race, I think that we could tell a lot of stories about his adventures in the Milky Way, and coming to terms with his place in the new Galaxy."

The next entry in the Mass Effect series is currently in the early stages of development, though at this point we don’t know if it will be a prequel or a sequel to last year’s Mass Effect 3.